Thousands of domestic tourists have thronged the beaches, pubs and nightclubs of Goa to see in the New Year, even as the government imposed tougher restrictions to curb the latest variant of the coronavirus.
The suspension of international commercial flights due to the pandemic has boosted domestic tourism, with hotels and restaurants in popular destinations such as Goa enjoying roaring trade.
However, a spike in COVID-19 infections prompted the country to tighten restrictions on Thursday, including night curfews in all major cities.
In Goa, authorities issued directives to hotels, restaurants and casinos to admit only guests with valid vaccination certificates or proof of a negative test result.
The palm-fringed beach at Calangute in northern Goa was nonetheless abuzz with activity on Thursday as tourists zoomed around on jetskis and took selfies against the sunset.
"I really wanted to get some beach air ... you know, wind in my hair, sand in my feet - so for that, I thought Goa would be the best place to go," said Jaya Pandey, a young software engineer visiting Goa from Patna.
Cruise boats and restaurants in Goa were busy, with managers and owners saying they were finding it hard to keep up with the surge in customers.
"It is very busy ... we start at 11 (a.m.) and finish up at 11 (p.m), it's 12 hours. Very hectic all the time," said Simplis Gomes, who owns a popular restaurant near the beach.
India reported 13,154 new COVID-19 cases and 268 deaths in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry said, with urban centres reporting a big jump. It was the highest number of daily infections since October.
Cases of infection by the Omicron variant rose to 961 across India.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Charter Flights Attract Tourists From New Global Destination To Goa: Tourism Department FC Goa Beat Punjab FC 2-1 To Climb To Top-Three In ISL Standings Bhumi Pednekar Reveals She Always Carries Desi-Style Hot And Sweet Sauce Trump Asks Musk To Join Call With Zelensky In Big Hint At His Possible Role Trump's Immigration Curbs To Impact Millions Of Indians, Their Children With YouTube As Guide, UP Men Printed Rs 500 Notes On Rs 10 Stamp Paper Why Chief Justice-Designate Sanjiv Khanna Had To Give Up His Morning Walks Pappu Yadav Receives Threat From Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, Again Pentagon Lifts Ban On Contractors Fixing US-Supplied Weapons In Ukraine Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.